Teachings
by ZaneTheNinjaOfIce
Summary: The overlord has been defeated and the ninja are on somewhat of a hold. Nothing bad has been happening in the city lately and Cole's dad seems to think that with all his spare time he should become a dancer, so Cole goes to Marty Oppenheimer's School of Performing Arts and the ninja are going to be in for a shock when he returns in a few months... A collab with JustCallMeDisc0rd3r!
1. Chapter 1

**New story! This is a collab between JustCallMeDisc0rd3r and I, we will be working together!**

**Check out both of our stories!**

**Enjoy!**

**Read on..**

**Cole's POV:**

Everything had been calm since the Overlords defeat. A pretty good ending to a long awaited battle, one that tore a family apart, but then put it back together again. Destiny can come around in the end... Sometimes.

Anyway, it's been fairly quiet. Not much crime to fight, no serpentine to stop, no evil dark lord to takedown. Kai, Zane, Jay and I were still ninja, but without anything to do, we had to get regular jobs... as teachers... in Sensei Wu's Academy, formerly Darkley's School for Bad Boys. There wasn't anything to do!

But that wasn't the worst of my problems...

**Earlier today...**

"Cole, I think it is in your best interests to do something else outside of being a ninja." My father began.

I had gone to visit my dad today, I hadn't seen him in a good few months and I thought it was time we caught up. I sat in my dad's living room whilst the radio played some Mozart, I didn't know what song it was and I had no intention of finding out, it would send my father into a full blown conversation about classical music and I didn't want to hear it again. So I just sat down, listening to the awful music as my dad talked about what I should do next, since there was no enemies to defeat.

"Dad, I've already told you, Ninjago still needs the ninja. I can't just stop being a ninja." I answered.

"Maybe not, but you could put it on hold and do something a little more...productive." He replied, choosing his words carefully.

"What do you mean by 'more productive'?" I asked.

"Well, since the overlords defeat, you haven't been doing much ninja-ing…" My father said as he paced up the room like he always did when discussing a serious matter. I just stayed sat down drinking the cup of tea he had given me when I had walked in.

I didn't like where this conversation was going.

I swayed my hand to him in a motion to carry on.

"... I think you should… um.." My father thought for a moment, deciding the best way to explain his 'idea' to me.

He stopped his pacing and faced me, "Cole, you're going to Marty Oppenheimers School for Performing Arts." He said sternly.

My mouth dropped, I was speechless.

"Wha... but.. No, I'm not!" I shouted.

"Cole, you can't say no to something like this." My father retorted.

"Watch me! No, I will not go!"

My father walked over, and sat on the couch beside me. "Cole, think about this, what else do you have to do at this moment in time?" He questioned.

I thought for a moment, I wasn't doing anything. I hated being a teacher. There was no evil in need of vanquishing by my brothers and I. Maybe my father had a point, I wasn't doing anything.

Maybe I should be?

I sighed and looked to my dad, "I'm not doing anything."

"See, you need something to fill your time." He carried on explaining.

"But Marty Oppenheimers has onsite dorms. That means I'll constantly be on premises!" I whined.

"That means you can't skip school." My father said with a smirk. He thought this was funny!

I looked my dad in the eyes, "I am not going to Marty Oppenheimers!" I concluded.

My dad hefted a heavy sigh, "I've already sent an application in for you. You can't say no, now."

I stared at my dad. "You did what!?"

My dad ignored my anger and spoke in his usual stern demeanour, "You're going, and that's final." He left without another word.

I got up and left my dad's house, I couldn't change his mind now...

How do I tell my brothers that I won't see them for a couple months because of school?


	2. Chapter 2

**Cole**

I sat at the dining room table with my brothers and my friends, head propped up on one arm while the other's hand was busy tapping it's fingers on the wooden table top.

I was growing impatient with Zane. He cooked so well but the waiting he made us suffer through as the amazing smells of his masterpieces hung in the air like fog was too much to bear.

My stomach rumbled angrily. Alice scoffed beside me. "Your stomach sounds like a rabid dragon..." She said.

I rolled my eyes. "Dragons can't get rabies."

"They can too, I've seen it." I cast her a sidelong glance. "Really? Where was this?" She leaned in really close and grinned. "In your room..."

Jay made a noise of disgust and crossed his forefingers in front of him, x-ing Alice out. "Unclean UNCLEAN!" He shouted, chuckling all the while.

Him and Alice were best pals. I'm not exactly sure why. He annoyed the hell out of me.

Alice balled up a napkin, throwing it at the ninja of lightning. "Shut up, stormy, you act like you haven't done it all with Nya before."

Nya walked in then, sitting by Jay. "That's because he hasn't." She said with confidence, offering him a kiss on the cheek. "Hasn't even asked me to. He's sweet." Jay visibly melted.

Kai groaned and hit his head on the table. "You two are gross..." Jay pouted. "At least I don't use ground pound every other night like Cole does. You can't tell me that THAT isn't gross!" I laughed.

"And you can't tell me that still being a virgin isn't gross either."

"Gahhhh!" Alice and I weren't really as sexual as we liked to joke about. Not saying that it was all a lie... But I'm sure "ground pound" was a huge exaggeration. (Even if it sounded like something I would do...)

Zane walked in with a handful of delicious morsels. "Perhaps we could cease with the carnal banter at the table, we are about to be eating." Jay blushed and Kai made another noise while Alice and Nya laughed.

Our family was severely dysfunctional in the best of ways. Hell I was dating a cyborg and Lloyd was in love with Pythor's daughter... Yeah... This was a crazy bunch... And I sure was going to miss them...


	3. Chapter 3

**Cole's POV**

After dinner I walked to my room thinking about what I should do about Marty Oppenheimer's...

I couldn't go! I didn't want to go...

If I did it meant leaving my friends...my family.

I pushed open the door to my room and slipped myself onto my bed, laying down like the sad lump of coal I was and releasing a heavy sigh.

My dad couldn't be serious. Could he?

I laid on my back and looked up at the ceiling; reaching into my pocket I pulled out a small leaflet about the school that I so unfairly had to go to.

My dad had no right to send in an application to sign me up for a school I had ran away from before.

What was he even thinking!?

I could just not go...that would be a great idea!

But it would tear my dad apart. He thinks he's doing the right thing.

I closed my eyes and tried to sleep; I normally wouldn't go to bed this early. To be honest, I was usually the last one in bed.

I stayed on my back, trying in vain to get sleep to take hold.

And of course...it didn't.

I heard a bit of noise come from outside my room; I got up off my bed and walked towards the door. I held the handle for a moment listening to the bustling coming from the other side. I waited until it went quiet and I swung the door open as fast as I could.

Alice fell into my room with a small thud.

"Ouch." She exclaimed, standing and dramatically dusting herself off. "Maybe you could give me a bit of a warning next time, Dirt Clod?" She requested, using her affectionate insult on me.

I went back to sit on my mattress and she strolled up to me with an intriguing rhythm in her step.

She stood over me, resting her hand on my shoulder. "Coleee?" She sang. "What's up with you?" She asked in her casual tone.

I frowned. "What makes you think something's up?" I answered a bit harsher than I meant to.

"Ooh." She retorted, holding her hands in sarcastic defence. "Don't lose it! I was only asking!"

Then she chuckled, but when I didn't join in she grew a bit more serious, looking down with worried eyes. "Seriously Cole, stop being a lump and tell me what's up." She asked again, this time with a little bit of concern.

I sighed again. "Nothing's wrong." I lied.

Alice scoffed. "Your worse at lying than PIXAL! Now you're gonna tell me or I'm gonna use my special brand of torture to make you talk."

I picked up the leaflet I had been reading and passed it to Alice. She looked at the cover and read it out in a formal, slightly accented voice.

"Marty Oppenheimer's School for Performing Arts, a school where your young flourish." She laughed; the title was fairly cheesy. "Why do you have this? Want me to burn it?" She asked.

That made me crack a smile, but it didn't last. I looked up at Alice, and immediately regretted it. She could read me like a book.

"Wait, you're not serious are you?" She said, thinking I was kidding.

"My dad seemed serious when he told me." I answered.

She gave me a look I couldn't place, it seemed like pity…

And she didn't pity shit.

I sighed, "No changing his mind now." I told her.

"You've got to be kidding..." Alice said through gritted teeth.

"No, I'm going to Marty Oppenheimer's." I said.

She sat beside me and put an arm around my shoulders. "Hey..." She said with a laugh. "At least when you get back you might be able to hold a candle to my skills..."

I gave her a weak smile. "Yeah. Maybe."

Way to keep a sense of humour Alice...it helps.

Let's hope the others will feel the same way.


	4. Chapter 4

**Cole**

I took a deep breath and entered the main room.

The four were playing a video game.

And joining them was Sensei Garmadon...

Who was beating all of them.

It was a digital bloodbath.

I sometimes think he still might be evil...

But then I kinda shrug off the notion.

Kai looked to me, smiling. "Hey Cole. Garmy's killing us, help us out?"

I shook my head. "No guys. I have some serious to tell you."

Jay put his thumb out and down, playing with one hand.

"Booooo!" He exclaimed. "We don't have time for serious, Cole, we're trying to defeat Garmadon here!"

I grew increasingly frustrated with them all.

They were all just casting me off for a stupid video game!

I balled my hands into fists...

And I grit my teeth together...

And I let myself go.

"DON'T ANY OF YOU CARE THAT IM LEAVING?!"

The entire house shook as my power caused the ground to quake.

Thankfully the foundations didn't crumble beneath our feet, but it sure did catch their attention.

Zane stood, holding his hands out to me. "Please stay calm, we're listening now. You said..." He cleared his throat. "You're leaving?"

Guilt immediately crept its way into my consciousness and I bowed my head with shame. "S...sorry guys...I just..."

Zane approached me, leaning down slightly to see my face. "What is it, brother...?"

I pushed him away with a growl. "Please just give me a second, will ya?"

He took a deep breath. "Yes. I apologize."

I sighed. "No. No. I am." I chucked. "I shouldn't have blown up. But...I have to tell you guys...I have to go to Marty Oppenheimer's for a few months..."

Lloyd raised an eyebrow. "What? That lame, preppy kid, dance school?"

"Bingo. Yatzee..."

Garmadon narrowed his eyes at me in contemplation. "Why?"

"My dad put in the application..." I held up the brochure. "This came with the acceptation letter..."

Jay shrugged. "You could skip. I mean...there isn't any reason why you shouldn't go."

I sat on the couch, setting my face in my hands. "I know...but my dad would never forgive me..." I looked to them all. "And what else am I doing? It's not like NinjaGo will crumble as soon as I leave..."

That's when Sensei Wu walked in.

"Perhaps this will be a good thing for you, Cole..." He said.

I glanced at him. "How so?"

He pointed to me with his staff. "You are a reliable and powerful leader. But sometimes you let your temper get the best of you. Where Kai lets his out gradually, you bottle it up, and then explode like dynamite." He walked up to me, poking me in the chest with the bamboo stick. "Perhaps if you were to go to this place and associate yourself with less violent, more level-headed individuals, this would help you learn to manage your anger..." He smiled, that charming, old-man grin immediately getting to me as always. "Think of it as another test. Maybe it will make things more interesting for you."

I nodded. "You're right."

Sensei rolled his eyes. "I am always right..."

The others laughed.

I lifted my head, now carrying about me a new level of confidence. "What a test this will be..."


	5. Chapter 5

**Cole's POV**

**A couple days later...**

I was in my room packing my stuff for the trip to Marty Oppenheimer's. Even though Sensei said to think of it like another test, I was still finding it hard to come to terms with me not being able to see my friends for a few months. Actually they weren't just friends...they were my family, and I had to leave them.

Stupid Marty Oppenheimer's...

I had my leather suitcase laid out on my bed and I was walking around my room, getting anything I could find that would help me get through my time at Marty's. I took a shirt out of one of my drawers, clumping it up into a ball and throwing it from the other side of my room, it landed in the case perfectly. I smiled to myself, it was an awesome shot.

But the smile quickly faded. Marty Oppenheimer's was one of the strictest schools in NinjaGo, I had no idea how I was going to survive. All those level-headed, snobby rich kids, being...snobby-rich kids. Sensei said that when I contain my anger and then let it out, I'm like dynamite. By the time I'm done at that school I'm going to be a freaking nuclear bomb!

I reached under my bed and pulled out a box. Inside the box was all the things I hated people touching, my MP3 player being one of them.

I took the player out and plugged the headphones in, turning up the music. Music always made me feel better, I guessed that's what I got for having my dad as...

Well...

My dad.

But I could never listen to that classical crap the way he did.

The music drowned everything else out, and I did my best to focus on the lyrics. As I continued to pack my bag, I couldn't help but hum along:

_"We're in the eye of the storm,_

_We're in the eye of the storm,_

_We're in the eye of the storm,_

_As the clouds start to form, danger sets,_

_Through it all looks so perfect, awesome and hi-tech,_

_But just like dreams some things aren't what they seem to be,_

_It's not the reality,_

_The future is not for certain,_

_Get up!_

_Get up!_

_Get up!_

_Get up, let's go!_

_Attention all! Ninjago is under attack!_

_It's digital,_

_It's digital..._

_Turning everything red!_

_Stand or fall!_

_Calling all ninja!_

_To the eye of the storm,_

_We're in the eye of the storm!"_

I sorta acted in accordance with the beat; a habit that Alice transferred to me like a virus.

After every line, I threw something into the carry case, jamming along with the beat of the music, this was one of my favorite songs.

I walked back over to my bed to put my box away when I saw something glinting in the bottom, hiding beneath some pictures and other miscellaneous things.

I reached in and pulled out the pebble necklace Alice had given me for my birthday. Well...actually it was a wire bracelet...but it was a little rough around the edges so I had the wire and stone made into a pendant, and got a cord...

Because I couldn't think about not wearing it. It was just so neat.

I hadn't put it on for a few weeks and it had a thin film of dust on it.

I blew it off and held it up to the light; it shone with the full color spectrum. It was one of the best gifts Alice had given me, and it was the moment when I realized I actually liked her, before that one time in the woods when i decided I REALLY liked her...

I put the necklace around my neck, securing it with the clasp at the back.

I was leaving her too, may as well have a piece of her with me...

If I wasn't going to have a piece of-

I cut off my thought before I started cackling like a perverted moron...

I zipped up the case and carried it to the bedroom door with ease.

I was leaving tomorrow.

With a sigh I set the case down and walked back to my bed, laying down on the worn mattress, feeling the comfort of home, appreciating it.

The sooner I leave, the sooner I'll get back. I thought.

I pulled the soft comforter over myself, and turned on my side.

Not bothering to change clothes, I decided I wanted to sleep in my ninja gi one last time before I left...


	6. Chapter 6

**Cole**

The immediate thing that first came to mind when I got off the bus was...

Damn...

This place is HUGE for a private school...

And I just knew I was going to hate it here...

I took a deep, heaving breath and walked up the steps.

Walked through the front doors.

Basically this whole building was a big hotel.

I just had all expenses paid...

Thanks to my dad...

And at the moment there must've been some sort of rush going on because there were plenty of people running back and forth across the halls and the main rooms, stopping to chat, et cetera, et cetera.

At least that's how it started.

As I tried to push my way through the crowd, trying to find my room number...

Some of them stopped whatever they were doing and turned to look.

When whoever they were associating with noticed they weren't paying attention to them, they would look too.

And it was a long cycle of turning heads and redirected gazes.

I was twenty three.

But I felt like I was eleven again.

I felt like the new kid in middle school on the first day.

It was embarrassing.

And there were just so many people here, trying to find my room was like looking for a grain of sand while swimming in a sea of eyes.

I'm bad at similes...

If you wanted poetic...you should have read a story about Elena or Zane...

But finally I managed to break free from the crowd of people, slipping into my dorm and shutting the door tightly behind me.

"You're public enemy number one..." Said a voice with a slight accent.

At the far end of the room I saw a guy in a tattered jacket with unruly brown hair.

He looked like he'd been fighting with rabid animals.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What are you talking about."

He glanced at the door. "They've all seen you on TV, they know that you're Lou Hence's son. They saw you on the talent show with those ninjas...to them, you are public enemy number one."

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "Why?"

"Because...you have an unfair advantage over them..."

I shrugged, grinning. "I have an unfair advantage over everyone." I said. "I'm a pretty kick-ass guy."

The man stood, walking up to me.

He was a mammoth, towering at least a foot over my height.

He extended a hand. "I'm Romulus." He greeted. "Pleased to meet you."

I shook his hand with a smile. "Hell, I just got here and a battle has already started..."

He chuckled. "Believe me, dancers aren't as well-behaved as you are led to believe..."

I took my hand back to myself and he did the same with his.

"At least I have an ally..." I stated.

He went back to his bunk bed and laid back in it. "It depends...I'll decide in time whether you deserve me as an ally."

I raised my hands in defence. "Okay, okay."

Perhaps this would be more interesting than I had anticipated.


	7. Chapter 7

Cole's POV

I had only been at Marty Oppenheimer's for a few days and I was already hating it...

Everyone was infuriating! All these polite-yet-rude people walking around boasting about how much money they have and what they would do when they left Marty's; be a professional actor, be a singer, be a dancer, be a stupid preppy rich kid with no aims in life other than making money that they don't need off of a career choice that was more than likely not going to get them anywhere...

It was early in the morning, school was about to be in session and it was great to enjoy the moments of peace before lessons started and the people were staring at you every second of the day because they were jealous of you...

I sat on my bed in the dormitory, thinking about the past few days. It had been pretty uneventful, I had made a possible enemy or a friend in Romulus, which was okay by me. I had gotten lost several times in the huge expanses of hallways and multiple classrooms and all these new people who were annoyed by the fact that I was the awesomely talented son of Lou Hence, and I am a great person! Obviously!

But they refused to help me out because of it. How much more immature can a group of people get?

Romulus sat on his bed, opposite my own. He had a pitch black electric guitar sat on his lap and he was plucking strings at random; I couldn't play guitar very well myself, it's why I gave mine to Alice, but I could tell that he knew nothing about the instrument at all.

I looked to Romulus, "You don't know how to play do you?" I questioned.

"Of course not! Why do you ask?" He said in his accented voice.

I looked at him for a moment. I must have looked weird because Romulus started laughing. "It belonged to a student who used to stay in this room, the kid graduated and left it behind."

"Then why do you have it if you can't play it?" I asked. "Why do you own a suit if you don't wear it?" Romulus countered, gesturing to the closet next to my bed, which held a suit that I hadn't even taken off the hanger.

"We just have things...for no reason." He concluded.

The school bell rang, its shrill noise resonating throughout the room. Romulus casually placed his hands over his ears, blocking out the noise. He did that every morning when the bell rang, as if the noise hurt him, it was unusual, but it was annoying...so I payed no attention.

I got up and sighed, "Another day of performing arts school. Yay!" I said with false sarcasm.

"Better get used to it," Romulus said. "If you try and enjoy your time here, it will go by faster."

He sounded a lot like Sensei Wu, but his voice was accompanied by a rich accent.

I got off my bed, pulled on my black hoodie and walked to the door, opening the door I looked back at Romulus and said. "Why would I wear a suit, I look just as good in a ninja gi!" And with that, I walked off to my lesson to get the day started.

I left the room and started walking to my first class; which was dance, walking through the maze-like corridors, hoping I would find my class on time. Teachers weren't very lenient when it came to being late. I got to my classroom, but a group of boys, each wearing suits, blocked the doorway. They were all leaning over someone, shouting in his face.

"Where do you think you're going kid?" The apparent leader of the group asked.

"Well... I ... was going to go to my next lesson..." The boy timidly replied.

"You hear that guys? He's going to his next lesson." The leader said to his group.

He probably thought he sounded smart and foreboding, but to me he sounded like a complete idiot. I thought about whether I should step in and help the kid, but when a member of the group pushed him onto the floor, that crossed the line. "Whoa, whoa guys," I said, stepping in front of the scrawny kid. "Calm the hell down."

The group stared at me, as if I had just made a grave mistake. "Did you just use the word 'hell'?" One of them asked, only to be elbowed by the leader.

"Stop worrying about the way this show off speaks!" The leader shouted. Apparently the way you spoke was important here... The ring leader walked up to me, standing on his tiptoes just so he could look me in my eyes. "Have you got a problem, punk?"

I thought for a moment. Yes, I did have a problem. I looked down to him, giving him my stone cold glare that scared the bravest serpentine and made them go crying to mommy. The leader squirmed under my gaze, like every enemy I had ever faced.

"Well?" He said, sounding a little unsure of himself, now. "As a matter of fact, I do have a problem." I said, I took the leader by the collar of his suit and pushed him up against the wall of the hallway. His eyes widened with terror.

"You know who I am, don't you? I am the master of earth. The cold, unforgiving earth." I pointed to the scrawny kid that was still sat on the floor. "You mess with him, and you will have to watch out for the full force of my power. Believe me, you don't want to be on the receiving end of it..."

I let go of the leaders collar and he stumbled away from me, along with the rest of his group. They turned away and ran. I looked back to the boy on the floor, and held out my hand to him.

"Need some help?" I asked in a calmer voice.

He took my hand and I hoisted him up. He was a small kid, deep brown eyes and sandy blonde hair. He stood and adjusted his glasses. He looked a lot like a very young Cyrus Borg.

Collecting his books into a pile and holding them in his hands, he spoke "Thank you, Cole Hence." He held out his hand this time. I took it and shook it in a formal welcome, "Yeah, that's me. But who are you?" I asked. "I'm Simon Levighn. Pleased to meet you."

He seemed like a nice person, no reason to dislike him.

"What lesson do you have next?" I questioned.

"Dance. In this room." He said, pointing to the door on his left. The same room as me.

"Me too, let's go and survive this lesson together." Simon gave a laugh and walked into the room with me following behind. I may have just made a friend.


	8. Chapter 8

**Cole**

Well Simon was embarrassing as a dancer...but he sure did study up on the subject.

There wasn't a question in the universe you couldn't ask him about dance, because he had the answer to every one.

He was a smart kid, just not too talented physically.

He would make a great teacher of the arts one day.

So classes were over and we were just strolling the halls together.

"So..." I began, hands in my pockets. "Why are we wandering? You still lost?"

He huffed lightly, adjusting his glasses. "Well...I have had trouble finding my dorm room..."

I smiled at him. "Hell, this place isn't half as big as it seems once you get used to it. What number you looking for?"

He pulled out a sheet of folded paper. "Um...one-twenty-seven."

Hey...whaddya know?

"That's my room, too." I told him. "Come on, I could use another pal. Romulus is...a little too serious in one-on-one conversation..."

We walked side-by-side down the halls.

Don't worry, we didn't hold hands or anything like that.

But people gave us the strangest looks I'd ever seen.

Like they haven't seen a nerd and a jock hang out before.

But soon enough we were to our dorm and away from prying eyes.

"Romulus!" I greeted happily, gesturing to the sandy looking mini-Cyrus. "This is Simon Levighn, he is our other roommate..."

He looked up from his guitar and offered a half smile. "Hello..."

Simon waved. "Hi."

I put an arm around Simon's shoulders. "You got a couple of regular badasses to look out for you, so if anyone gives you trouble, I give you permission to come crying to us. We'll feed those guys a can of whup-ass..."

Romulus raised an eyebrow at me. "Us...? We...?"

I glared at him jokingly. "Yes, us. It is my job as a ninja to protect those who cannot protect themselves, and you are my ally, so you fight for my cause too."

Romulus rolled his eyes. "Fine fine...I'll help the little guy out..."

I grinned. "Good." I turned to Simon. "Please though, kid...don't actually come crying to us...no literal stuff..."

He chuckled. "Oh no, I'm not that wimpy..." He said. "Though...maybe you could teach me how to fight back instead...?"

"Believe me, my brand of teaching is no walk in the park..."


End file.
